Children's Dreams

So what is a mom to do about children's dreams?

My son Brent has always wanted to be a bull rider and roper. I have pictures of him with a rope from the time that he could walk. During his early years, Brent never liked cartoons. His favorite video was rodeo bloopers. I found every rodeo video I could for him. Even home movies of his dad and uncle Troy in High School Rodeo and old NFR tapes. He simply would not watch anything else.

He roped everything and still does. But he also rode everything. He would pretend everything was a bull the arm of the couch, the rocking chair and even a Christmas popcorn tin.

I have tried for years to ignore the bull riding part. I made sure he had ropes and rope horses. I also made sure he never entered calf or steer riding in the junior rodeos. Now he is 12 and he still wants to become a bull rider. He watches the PBR tour. He knows all the cowboys and bulls. He even has the bull riding playset.

I keep thinking that if he gets thrown hard once, he will no longer want to do it. At least I hope that works. So I have finally consented to let him ride a steer in the next junior rodeo on August 3. I definitely will not be able to watch. His dad will have to take pictures.

I struggle with the as a parent I can say no but what about his dreams. So we will see how it goes. Maybe it will hurt and he wont want to do it anymore but what if he still does?

How much is too much or not enough?

On Saturday July 7th , we picked up my niece and nephew in Price. They are my brother's children from his second marriage. Due to drug and alcohol abuse, they spent a year in foster care away from their mother and his rights have been terminated. So to say the least they have had a rough time.

Their current situation is not any better. They live with their mom. She has 3 kids, is not married and no child support. Don't get me wrong I know mom's who do this but not this one. She spends money on cigarrettes and things other than what the children really need. For example, she has enough money to smoke but not pay the propane bill so her kids can have hot running water.

I don't feel sorry for her. She choose to get pregnant with 3 different guys all out of wedlock. She chooses to use drugs and alcohol. If she truly was dedicated to those kids, then I would not think twice about helping her and the kids.

We tried to get custody of the kids a couple of years ago. However, the laws in the State of Utah are stupid. A mother can use meth while she is pregnant and still keep her kids. I think she should go to jail for life.

So we do what we can for the kids as often as we can. I send them things they can use like socks, toothpaste, paper for school and other usable things. I never send money but she would waste. I try to have them stay with us a few times a year. This time we had them for a week.

Here is where the difficulty comes. I see bringing them here as providing a refuge to them. They actually get to bath and as my nephew puts it "eat real food". My kids try to be tolerant of that but after a few days they want their lives back. I know that my kids care but I wish they would be a little more giving and perhaps they wish I wasn't. So the real question is how much is too much or not enough?

Finding balance in life and family is really tough. I know that there are no right answers. We just have to do the best we all know how.

PHSC Show Price

Coy, Brent and I went to Price July 7th. Brent really wants to win all around youth in PHSC.

We had a really good show. I was really proud of Brent in Showmanship at Halter. He showed in the adult class and had a beautiful pattern. He placed 2nd. It was awesome. The picture to the right is him showing in that class.

He had a good overall day. He placed 3rd in Youth Pleasure, 2nd in Barrels, 2nd in Speed and Intelligence and 3rd in Keyhole. The point should put him first for the year in Youth Western Pleasure, Youth Barrels and Youth Speed and Intelligence.

Coy showed Dee Dee. She was actually pretty good in the Senior Pleasure and she is not a pleasure horse. However, she was awful in her best event Handy Horse. She did not like the blue slicker. Normally, she will pick up anything but she would have nothing to do with it. Coy placed in Halter, Pleasure, and Discipline on the Rail.

It was extremely hot that day. We saw the most amazing wild fire that afternoon. When we got to Price, all you could see was the smoke coming from the other side of the canyon. However, later that day we were waiting for an event and everyone looked up on the mountain. You could see flames coming over the top. They must have been several feet high for us to see that at such a distance. I think we were all awe struck just watching it.

New Harry Potter

I am an avid Harry Potter fan. I am not quite sure why but I am definitely hooked. I think it is because it is time that Racheal and I spend together. We have read every book together. Although that is hard to do with our schedules, we make time to read them when they are released.

I have had the new book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) on preorder for several months. It is supposed to arrive on Saturday. I love Amazon for that. I never have to wait in line at a store. It is just delivered on time without any hassles.

I can not wait to read it. It will be interesting to see how she ends the series.

On Wednesday, we went to the opening of the new Harry Potter movie. I had promised Racheal and Keylee that I would take them the day it came out.

The movie was visually amazing and you do fall in love with the characters all over again. If you are an avid fan of the books, I am sure you have the same criticism that I do. They really miss a lot of the book in the movie. I know that they try to keep movies to a certain time limit. They also need to keep the story moving along with the high action sequences.

You should go to be entertained and ignore all of the details. However, in this movie they really leave out some of the key details from book 5. They do not build any of the story lines of the characters especially the relationship of Harry and his godfather. So when he is killed, there is not the emotion like when Cedric was killed in the movie Harry and the Goblet of Fire. There are so many key points missing that I am not sure how the movie for book 6 will work. There will be a lot of confusion on the part of the person who has only seen the movies.

The movies are a fun way to see the books in live action but the do not really represent the complexity and story of the books.

4th of July

4th of July is one of our favorite family holidays. For the last several years, we have spent it with Coy's family in the small town of Mt Pleasant. I am sure it is similar to a lot of small towns across the country with a little fair, rodeo and fireworks in the park.

We usually go to the booths sometime in the afternoon. My kids always get their faces painted or some kind of temporary tattoo. We have a family barbecue at grandmas. Most of the family comes for the day. It is great to see them.

Then later that night we go to the hometown rodeo. My brother in law Troy usually enters in the Calf Roping. There are also a lot of other rodeo locals that we know. It makes the rodeo a lot of fun to cheer for friends and family.

After the rodeo is our favorite part. We go to the city park for fireworks. I love pictures of my kids with sparklers. So they have to get one taken every year. In this post are pictures from this year. I also included pictures of Racheal's friend Keylee and our nephew Cole. His was so funny.

When the sparklers are done, it is usually time for the main show to start. We love the park because the fireworks go right over your head. All of the kids make sound effects and it a lot of fun. It is always too short but I love to watch them in the sky.

We are always blessed when we get to spend a day like that with family and friends. It is great to take time to slow down and just play all day.